Dance, Music, and Culture: The Beauty of the Woven Stories Festival

By Staff Writers Eleanor Chen & Emily Zhang

After months of practice, dancers and musicians took center stage at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts for the 16th Annual Woven Stories Festival, also known as the organization’s second Multicultural Arts Festival on February 22. Presented by the Chinese Performing Arts of America (CPAA), this dazzling celebration of the 2025 Lunar New Year and of the Bay Area’s diverse multicultural heritage is showcased through a vibrant array of music and dance.

The festival used food-related symbolism as the festival unfolded like a multi-course culinary journey, with each of the six flavors — sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, salty, and umami — used throughout the show, representing a different quality of the Bay Area. “Life is like a grand feast, filled with various tastes. These flavors fuel our drive to pursue our dreams and cherish every moment,” Choreography Director Han Feng said. Sweetness symbolized warmth and happiness, balancing sourness, which captured the bittersweet moments of sorrow and separation. Spiciness was paired with saltiness, the former reflecting the passionate, relentless strive for a better life, and the latter representing emotional hardships, particularly the struggles faced by immigrants distanced from family and friends. The journey then transitioned into bitterness, signifying the resilience and hope for the future, before ending with umami, which served as a reflection of the region’s innovation, inclusivity, and diversity — similar to how umami relies on a harmonious blend of ingredients to achieve its depth of flavor. Each performance within their respective categories embodied the messages the flavors represented, bringing Bay Area’s cultural richness to life.

The night opened with the first chapter, “The Intertwining of Sweetness and Sourness,” featuring five stunning performances, each of which remained true to the themes of both flavors. Performances such as the dance “Mo Li Hua” (Ode to Jasmine), presented by the Chinese Performing Arts Academy, and the piano piece, “A Wide River”, played by pianists Dr. Ilya Blinov and Albert Du, embodied the theme of sweetness, as both carried joyful and elegant undertones. Singer and show host, Christie Wang, represented sourness with her solo rendition of the song, “A Half-Moon Serenade,” conveying the sorrows of lost love and bygone days through its touching lyrics. The Indian Kathak dance, performed by the Tarangini School of Kathak, added a vibrant twist, showcasing the beauty of Indian culture with graceful hand gestures, complex footwork, and beautiful ghagras.

Next came “The Clash of Spiciness and Bitterness,” in which dramatic storytelling, kung-fu performances, and contemporary dances portrayed the struggles immigrants face to chase their dreams. One of the most distinct performances was the War Drum Dance, an intense, rhythmic traditional Chinese dance performed by the Han Performing Arts Academy.  The sharp, coordinated movements of the performers paired with the fiery accompaniment music captured the drive and determination characteristic of the spicy flavor. In stark contrast, the “500 years dance,” performed by the North America Tsinghua Dance Team, presented a more somber mood, narrating stories of past loved ones through fluid, emotional movements to capture the essence of bitterness.

The third section, “The Reflection of Saltiness and Umami,” was the last to focus on individual flavors. It featured songs played by a mix of modern and traditional Chinese instruments, like the xiao, pipa, and guzheng. The performance of “My Grassland” reflected the vastness of the open plains and showcases Mongolian culture. Next came the retelling of the Chinese myth, The Legend of the White Snake, which depicted the profound love shared between the two lovers when reunited a thousand years later. 

The night culminated with “The Symphony of Life’s Flavors,” a breathtaking finale that embodied life and its stories. This section only contained two dances: a lively Mexican partner dance full of passion and rhythm, called “Dances from the State Hildago,” performed by the Los Lupeños de San José, contrasted with a refined classical ballet titled the “Melody of Life,” further reminding the audience of the cultural richness that unites Bay Area’s diverse communities.

Woven Stories was more than just a performance — it was a celebration of Bay Area culture, resilience, shared experiences. By weaving together music, dance, and storytelling, the festival highlighted the uniqueness of each tradition, as well as the beauty that emerges when they come together, much like the flavors of a grand feast blending to create something richer, more harmonious, and impactful. “Just being able to hear the different ways they express music, the different instruments, and the way that they celebrate and dance was really … beautiful to see,” audience member Tristan Chou said.